A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist recently helped a Chilean university research the slender-billed parakeet, a species for which no ecological data exists. Dr. Thomas H. White Jr., with the Service’s Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program, visited Chile Oct. 11-23 to assist the Universidad of Los Lagos with ecological research.  White, Dr. Jaime Jimenez of ULA; and Ana Bertoldi, a ULA graduate student who is collecting field data, are co-investigators on the project.

The Service has directly contributed to this research by donating radio-telemetry equipment and allowing White to travel to Chile to actively study the bird.  The slender-billed parakeet, which locals refer to as the Choroy, exists only in southern Chile. 

During his visit, White also conducted a two-day workshop on wildlife radio telemetry at ULA, which 25 students from several Chilean universities attended.  Together, the telemetry training and the collaborative research project are helping to enhance the research efforts of local biologists and researchers.

The research project on the Choroy addresses a critical lack of information on this nationally endangered endemic species. It focuses on the effects of land-use practices in southern Chile, as well as the Choroy’s nesting ecology and prospects for long-term survival.

Like most parrot species, the Choroy depends on natural cavities in large mature trees for nesting.  Over the past decades, however, Chile has converted large areas in the south to intensive agricultural and cattle production. As a result, the Choroyes are left with only scattered remnants of the original forests in which to nest.  This intensive agricultural use also prevents the regeneration of young trees to replace existing large trees once they die or Chileans cut them for firewood or fence posts.   Moreover, the Choroyes’ propensity to consume germinating grain crops frequently brings them into direct conflict with farmers. To prevent crop losses, farmers often resort to shooting the birds, even though the Chilean government considers them endangered and protects them under the law. 

Consequently, the research project will involve radio telemetry of adult and fledgling Choroyes to determine important habitat areas. Researchers will also use telemetry to identify and characterize existing nesting areas and to carry out landscape-level analyses of land-use patterns. This information may help them determine the interaction between past and current land-use practices and the ecology of the Choroy.  Results of this research will provide scientific data for a conservation plan to ensure this uniquely Chilean species’ continued survival and coexistence with southern Chile’s important agricultural economy. 

Interested parties wishing to become involved in this project should contact Dr. Jaime Jimenez by e-mail at jjimenez@ulagos.cl or by phone at 56-64-333104.